Category Management

CATEGORY MANAGEMENT
RECRUITMENT SPECIALISTS

Lime Talent, based in London, is highly experienced in recruiting for category management roles, covering positions from Category Executive to Category Director levels. For larger organizations our network of candidates covers Category Insights, Category Strategy and Customer Category Management. Whilst within challenger brands, we excel in recruiting the foundational members for their category teams.

At Lime Talent, we understand the importance of finding candidates that have the ability to analyze category data and present actionable recommendations to customers. Our expertise lies not just in identifying these skill sets, but also in connecting you with candidates who have the right competencies to be able to succeed in your role. We are committed to ensuring the best possible match for your team.

Why Use Us?

Established in 2013, we recruit various FMCG category roles within larger organizations ranging from Category Executive to Category Director levels, as well as Category Strategy and Customer Category management. For challenger brands, we have successfully recruited first team members, setting the foundation for their category teams. Each member of our team is an FMCG recruitment expert, and we have specialist consultants who recruit for roles within category management which ensures you will be working with someone who fully comprehends your brief.

You can see some of our clients below

Within Category Management we cover the following sub categories:

Food & Drink

Alcoholic Drinks

Health, Beauty & Personal Care

Consumer Products

Direct to Consumer & Subscription

What our clients say

  • “Lime Talent are responsive, flexible, honest and therefore very easy to work with. When I need support for trickier roles, then Lime are my first port of call and I always recommend them as they strike a good balance of challenge/blue chip from their network.”

    UK Country Manager | Tony’s Chocolonely

  • “Lime Talent have been a fantastic partner to me as I’ve built out the UK & Europe team for Who Gives a Crap. Their ability to get a quick understanding of our business, the needs I had for the roles and the calibre of Lime’s candidate pool has been invaluable. It’s allowed us to move quickly to build out a team from scratch, hiring roles across a range of functions including commercial, marketing, strategy & insights. I simply wouldn’t have been able to do this without Lime’s support & expertise!”

    MD UK & Europe | Who gives a crap

  • “Lime Talent have remained our trusted partners for the last 5 years. Most of our hires have come through Lime with the team clearly identifying the talent that have made the business successful so far. The candidates we receive are incredibly well filtered and we know before we meet them, that they will have the requisite calibre to succeed.”

    Managing Director | Itsu

  • “Lime Talent demonstrate a high degree of honesty and openness about the risks and considerations of placing specific people and you are continually assured they take a long-term approach to working with Ferrero. Highly recommended.”

    Customer Development Director | Ferrero

  • “Lime Talent made the process as easy as possible by providing well-screened candidates along with regular updates. They also provided clear guidance on the recruitment landscape that helped us position our role as attractive to candidates with the relevant skill set.”

    Marketing Manager | Windmill Organics

  • “Lime did a good job for us and I’ve enjoyed working with them on roles. Moved quickly and have been communicative, understanding our requirements on limited information.”

    CEO | Hackney Gelato

  • “The best recruitment business I’ve worked with. Highly recommended.”

    Founder | Holy Moly

DIRECTOR

Dan Hodge is a founding Director at Lime Talent. He started his career in 2006 placing senior level, permanent and interim candidates into marketing and commercial roles. Exceptionally skilled in filling positions in the consumer goods sector, Dan leads a team of talented consultants whose client list includes a range of publicly listed, private equity backed and privately owned businesses.

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    Client Portfolio

    • Tony's Chocolonely
      Track Record
      We started working with Tony’s in 2018 to assist with their UK launch securing them:
      - UKI Head of Marketing
      - UK Head of Sales
      - UK Operations & Finance Manager
      Feedback
      “I used Lime Talent in the very early days of our UK launch with the team helping me hire my (now) UK leadership team who are all still with us since 2018. "
      Feedback
      "Lime Talent are responsive, flexible, honest and therefore very easy to work with. When I need support for trickier roles, then Lime are my first port of call and I always recommend them as they strike a good balance of challenge/blue chip from their network.” UK Country Manager
    • Danone
      Track Record
      Preferred supplier for roles within commercial and supply chain functions
    • who gives a crap
      Track Record
      Helping to build their EU team with roles including:
      - EU Head of Consumer
      - EU Head of Commercial
      - As well as various other roles
      Feedback
      “Lime Talent have been a fantastic partner to me as I've built out the UK & Europe team for Who Gives a Crap. Their ability to get a quick understanding of our business, the needs I had for the roles and the calibre of Lime's candidate pool has been invaluable. "
      Feedback
      "It's allowed us to move quickly to build out a team from scratch, hiring roles across a range of functions including commercial, marketing, strategy & insights. I simply wouldn't have been able to do this without Lime's support & expertise!" MD UK & Europe
    • L'Oreal
      Track Record
      Various projects from Manager to Director level within functions such as
      - eCommerce
      - Market Intelligence
      - Revenue Growth
      - Category Strategy
      - Business & Data analysis

    FAQ Section

    What does a Category Management professional do in an FMCG business?

    Category Management professionals use data and shopper insight to optimise product ranges, pricing architecture, shelf strategy and promotional planning. In FMCG businesses, they work closely with retail partners to develop category growth strategies aligned to consumer behaviour and commercial performance.

    At senior levels, Category leaders influence retailer strategy, range reviews and long-term customer partnerships.

    What is the difference between Category Management and Revenue Growth Management?

    Category Management focuses on shopper insight, assortment optimisation and retailer collaboration. Revenue Growth Management (RGM) focuses more specifically on pricing strategy, pack architecture and trade investment optimisation.

    Both functions are commercially critical, but Category is typically retailer-facing while RGM is more internally focused on margin modelling and pricing governance.

    What salary does a Category Management professional earn in the UK FMCG sector?

    Typical UK salary ranges are:

    • Category Executive / Analyst: £35,000–£50,000
    • Category Manager: £45,000–£65,000 + bonus
    • Senior Category Manager: £60,000–£85,000 + bonus
    • Head of Category: £80,000–£120,000 + bonus
    • Category Director / Customer Strategy Director: £120,000–£160,000 + bonus + LTIP

    Compensation reflects retailer exposure, data ownership, commercial influence and strategic responsibility across range and pricing decisions. To provide an accurate market benchmark, it’s important to understand retailer portfolio scope and organisational structure.

    Lime Talent also provides tailored FMCG salary benchmarking support to help consumer brands align category capability with commercial strategy.

    What skills are required for senior Category roles?

    • Advanced data analysis (Nielsen, Circana, Dunnhumby)
    • Retailer presentation and influence
    • Range and assortment optimisation
    • Promotional evaluation
    • Cross-functional collaboration with sales and marketing

    At Director level, ownership of customer strategy and category vision becomes central.

    When should a business invest in senior Category capability?

    As distribution expands and retailer data becomes more sophisticated, structured Category expertise becomes essential to drive profitable growth and strengthen long-term retail partnerships.

    How does Category structure evolve as a business scales?

    In smaller businesses, Category may sit within sales. As complexity increases, dedicated Category teams are formed to support multi-retailer strategy.

    In larger or investor-backed environments, Category Directors often operate as strategic partners to Sales Directors and Commercial Directors.

    How do Lime Talent recruit Category professionals?

    We conduct targeted searches across retailer-facing category talent, assessing both data capability and commercial influence to ensure candidates can deliver measurable category growth.

    Can Lime Talent support interim Category hires?

    Yes. We regularly place interim Category Managers and Customer Strategy Leads during retailer transitions, range resets or growth phases.